Heretofore, medical gowns have been designed to allow access to the body of a patient undergoing an examination or medical procedure. These gowns are oftentimes designed in segments or portions that are held together with hook and loop type fasteners, snaps, ties or other fasteners. The purpose of the segmentation of the gowns is to allow access to the underlying body part of the patient while maintaining coverage of the remainder of the patient's body.
A problem however arises when access to a patient is limited by a gown or when a patient coupled or hooked-up to other medical devices which include wires or tubes coupled to the patient's body, such as electrical heart monitoring devices, oxygen monitoring devices, intravenous fluid tubes, catheters, or other similar medical devices which include wires or tubes. These wires or tubes are typically extended under the gown though the bottom opening, neck opening, or sleeve opening. However, by positioning the wires or tubes in such a manner they are unsecure and may become entangled with the patient, or a tube may become kinked or collapsed due to a patient's body weight being placed upon it.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a medical gown that provides a better access to a patient and/or subsequent wearing of medical related equipment having wires or tubes attached to a patient's body. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.